


take one not both

by NewandOld



Category: Captain America (Movies), Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-03
Updated: 2017-01-12
Packaged: 2018-07-29 02:45:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,917
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7667281
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NewandOld/pseuds/NewandOld
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Where Alphonse is the sick young man who has to watch his brother go to war.</p><p>Captain America AU.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. it all begins with a sigh

"Al? Where are you going?"

Ed watched Al freeze in place and turn slowly towards him.  _The papers in Al's hand, the fake glasses, the height change..._

 

"You're going to try to enlist again, aren't you?" he said with a sigh. Al stayed silent, but Ed knew his brother enough to tell his body language.

"Al. We've talked about this," he muttered, a hand rubbing between his eyebrows. "You can't enlist with that body."

 

"I don't care. I'm going to be old enough, and I will go with you."

Ed sighed again. "Al," he started. "You know you can't."

_Why did his brother try so hard to follow him into war? Didn't he know that his body wouldn't hold out a week on the battlefield?_

"I _am_ going with you." Al insisted.

"No, you're not."

"Mom said --"

"Mom said I had to protect you. You're staying."

"No, Mom said we had to be there for each other and to protect each other. How'm I supposed to do that when you go somewhere where I can't follow?"

"Al --"

"No, brother. I will pass the tests, and I will fight."

Ed recognized that stubborn look, which caused half of the headache-inducing situations that Al would get into. He breathed out a resigned sigh.

"...Alright, fine." Ed let Al grin and bask in his victory for a moment, then added on his compromise. "But I can't help you get into my battalion; you have to be approved by the enlisting officers and make it on your own merit."

Ed watched his brother's face morph from glee to disappointment, hesitation, then determination, wondering if Al would ever grow out of being an open book of emotions. He could only hope that the continual rejections were going to be enough to keep his sickly brother away from the battlefields and safe home at Amestris. 

"Just you wait Ed. I'll pass." Al replied, and turned towards the front door again.

Grabbing Al back and taking his hat, Ed chuckled resignedly. "Whatever you say, li'l bro. Go back to bed and go to the enlistment center tomorrow," Glancing outside the window at the dark skies and checking the clock, Ed snorted. "No one in their right minds will let anyone this early... morning... to enlist anyway."

* * *

Ed had delayed his deployment as long as he possibly could, but Al's birthday had come around, and with the birthday, Ed was asked politely to get to the front lines already, which he had delayed for nearly a year -- one of the many perks that came from graduating with top marks from a naval officer academy.

The government had allowed him to stay back this long only because there was no one left in their family. When the war broke out and most of the naval academy students were recruited, there was only a half year left until Ed's graduation, then another half year until Al's 18th; the faceless government had decided waiting a year instead of taking an unwilling soldier to war.

And now that the year was up, nothing other than the end of the war was going to stop them from recruiting the promising Edward Elric, valedictorian of the Academy.

 

"Al?" Ed called out to the house, shouldering his pack and taking up the shiny badges from the dresser. "Al, I'm ready."

He trudged down the stairs and towards the closet near the front door, taking out his military boots and putting them on. He heard Al shuffling some things in the kitchen, and thought back to the paperwork that he had handed over to his lawyer the day before.

_'I, Edward Elric, of Central, Amestris, being of sound mind, declare this to be my Last Will and Testament...'_

Shaking his morbid thoughts away, Ed stood up as he heard Al approaching from the kitchen, brushing off his hands and rechecking his laces. Al came in, looking haggard and weary, carrying several packages in his arms. His brother reached over and placed a wrapped sandwich into the pocket of his coat, then opened the satchel and began packing away the other packages.

"There're biscuits, jerky, and Ms. Martha's dried dates. To remind you of home." Al said without inflection.

Ed fidgeted with his badges in his hands, not sure what to say. They only had each other ever since their mother's death, but their neighbors had always helped them out, the whole community coming together to help raise young Trisha's two boys. And while the Elric brothers had been alone, they had been alone together. This was the first time they would be spending a lengthy time apart.

Al finished putting away the packages and walked up to check over Ed's appearance. In the silence, Ed silently handed over his badges and watched as Al carefully pinned them onto his chest.

"...Promise me you won't get hurt." Al said quietly, as he finished pinning the last badge.

"I promise."

Al looked up with a knowing and severe look. "Actually, promise that when you get hurt, you'll go to the nearest doctor immediately."

Raising an eyebrow, Ed complied easily. "...I promise."

Al frowned a little before wordlessly turning back to the coat and brushed off some lint from the coat. "I'm going to get to where you are as fast as I can."

Ed easily agreed, voice light. "Yeah."

Al glared again at his older brother. "I'm _serious_."

"And I'm Ed."

Al lightly punched Ed on his chest. " _Brother_."

"Ow, that hurt." Ed joked, trying to lighten the mood.

Al didn't respond with a comeback, instead drinking in Ed's face. He was silent before desperately clutching at Ed's coat lapels, pulling him closer. "Brother... You have to come back.  _You_ _have to_."

"Of course I will," Ed said with a grin, patting Al's gaunt face. "I promised."

Slowly letting go of the lapels, Al looked down at the coat again and began straightening out the wrinkles he caused, trying to hide the wetness from his eyes and the shaking from his voice. "And you better keep that promise, or I'm coming to get you."

"Yup, you'll drag me from hell to kill me again for breaking the promise." Ed deadpanned, smiling. He pretended he didn't see the tear on the corner of Al's eye.

"Yeah, you've got that right," Al chuckled wetly. "...Come back safe, brother."

"...I will."

* * *

It has been almost a month since Ed has left for the front lines, and Al sighed as he sat in front of yet another enlisting center, looking down at his results.

4F. The lowest anyone could score on the test. Again, not a passing grade to get enlisted.

 

He had done his best to look for other places, places where he had heard rumors of being much more lax in letting in boys who wanted to enlist, but with his abysmal physical score...

 

With a sigh, Al stood from the bench and began to tuck away his results. _Try again,_ he told himself. _There's got to be something I can do to get to the front lines..._

* * *

"Wait here."

Al stiffened. "Is there a problem, doctor?"

"Just wait here."

 

 

Al glanced around, but the one sign kept bothering him: 'It is Illegal to Falsify Your Enlistment Form'.

He quickly began to gather up his coat and belongings when another man in a lab coat walked in, cutting off the way to the exit.

Before Al had a chance to begin explaining himself, the man glanced up from the file he was reading. "So, you want to go kill some Nazis, Mr. Elric?"

Al started, as he was not expecting that question at all. After a few moments of tense staring, Al answered slowly and carefully, looking warily at the doctor. "I don't want to kill anyone, but I think the Nazis are being no better than bullies, and I don't like bullies telling me what to do."

"Hm." The doctor looked back down at the paperwork, flipping through the pages.

When the man didn't say anything else, Al tacked on his real reason. "And I need to find Ed and make sure he doesn't do anything stupid out there."

"Ed?" The doctor looked a little more interested, and glanced back up at Al.

"Lieutenant Edward Elric. Of the 103 squad. My older brother."

"A brother..." The man looked a little conflicted at the newer information, and was deep in thought, leaving Al to fidget. After a long period of silence, the man looked back up with a sigh, rubbing at his eyebrows. "Well. Mr. Elric. Though a large part of me rebels against this idea, I can offer you a chance to go to the front lines --"

"I'll take it." Al agreed immediately. _Anything to get to the front lines_. "Please."

The doctor hesitated once again and handed a stack of papers to Al. "... I'll see you at boot camp, Mr. Elric."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just something I wrote up after seeing some art on tumblr (http://persnickety-doodles.tumblr.com/post/123690656346/ahhaha-old-art-bc-i-dont-have-any-new-art)


	2. take the world on, step by step

Al looked around the training field awkwardly, his new uniform still loosely stiff in the shoulders and legs. There were many men around him, all seeming to flock around the men in the middle who looked more muscular and stronger than the others.

Al sighed to himself, wondering why most of his gender had to be so shallow like this, but said nothing, knowing that only time could change any kind of opinion. Al perked up as there was a hubbub from the commanding tent, and watched as a woman in military apparel came out.  Soon, the other men around him were whispering and elbowing each other as they noticed what Al did.

She stopped in front of them, and Al felt himself unconsciously standing straight to attention.

"Welcome, gentlemen, to boot camp. I'm Lieutenant Rockbell, and I will be in charge of all your training," The woman said in a crisp, clear tone that had no room for arguments.

There was a moment of silence as the group of men took that in with open disbelief, but it was soon broken by an obnoxious guffaw. Everyone turned as one to the man who laughed, the largest man in their group of green recruits -- a heavy-set man with a mean glint in his eyes.

"What's a pretty dame like you doing out here? Are you lost?" He called out mockingly.

The woman only raised an eyebrow. "Your name, soldier?"

"Patrick Hodge, at your service," The newly-minted soldier said with a smirk. "And I hope you call my _service_ often."

The men around Hodge looked stunned for a moment before hooting and whistling at Hodge's daring, forgetting for a moment that the woman was a military officer.

"Hmm." The Lieutenant's face did not change from the poker-face it was in, just turing a little thoughtful at that statement. She waved the man over. "Take a step forward, soldier."

Grinning, Hodge stepped forward, but before he had a chance to finish the last step before reaching the lieutenant, she _moved_ , doing something with her foot -- by the time everyone had gathered their wits, Hodge was on the floor groaning in pain.

"Would anyone else like to comment?" The Lieutenant's quiet voice rang out. All the soldiers immediately stood to attention, wide-eyed in surprise and fear.

"Hmm. Not all dunderheads, are we." The Lieutenant noted, looking around the group. "For now, ten laps around the field would do. Last one around joins Hodge in cleaning latrines."

* * *

"You're not really picking Elric, are you?"

Dr. Marcoh glanced back at the colonel, then returned to watch the recruits on the training field. "He is the clear choice, colonel."

The colonel sighed.

"Look, when you first brought that ninety pounds asthmatic into my army, I let it go, because he might be useful to you, like a lab rat. Now?" he waved vaguely towards Al, who was huffing as he came running in last, significantly slower than the rest of his peers. "Look at him. He's making me cry."

"Colonel Adams, I am looking for qualities beyond the physical. This experiment is more significant than giving a powerful new gun to a soldier."

"Alright, alright! I get it, but look at Hodge! He's passed every test we've given him. Why _not_ him?"

"He is incredibly self-centered and bullies anyone weaker than himself."

The colonel paused, glancing at the scientist still watching the training.

"...You can't win a war with flowers and words, Doctor."

"Then what would happen after the war is over? If there was no enemy to point him towards?" Dr. Marcoh asked with a sharp look. The colonel opened his mouth as if to say something, but closed it without another word.

Dr. Marcoh sighed as well after a pointed silence.

"Exactly. But to make sure..." The bespectacled man grabbed a fake grenade and lobbed it into the middle of the training field.

" _Grenade! Everyone take cover!_ "

* * *

"Big day tomorrow, Mr. Elric. Are you ready?"

Al jerked up from his bunk, looking up in surprise at the door.

"Dr. Marcoh!" Al closed his sketchbook, slipping a picture inside as he stood to greet him. "Please call me Al, or Alphonse."

"Alphonse, then." The doctor curiously glanced at the sketchbook with the edge of the photo peeking out, but didn't say anything as he took a seat in the bunk across from Al. "Nervous?"

Al didn't answer, his eyes thoughtful as he fiddled with the edge of the photograph. Before Dr. Marcoh had a chance to ask about the picture, Al took out the photo and looked down at it, and Marcoh saw Al and another man in military regalia, the military man giving Al a noogie with a mischievous grin aimed at the camera.

"...I'll admit it does scare me a little," Al finally said. "Ed would definitely not approve," he added in a semi-loud mutter that Marcoh wasn't supposed to hear.

"I wanted to talk to you about the serum," Dr. Marcoh stated almost carelessly. Al just nodded in agreement, not seeing the careful look the doctor gave him from the corner of his eye. "The serum amplifies everything that is inside, not just muscles and outward appearance, but from the cellular level. A system of... regeneration and healing."

Al nodded again, this time with much more wonder and awe, but solemn at the information.

"So, good becomes great," Dr. Marcoh finished, and Al hummed his understanding. There was a moment of silence between them, both quiet with their own thoughts.

The doctor suddenly leaned forward towards Al. "I've watched you, Alphonse. You know what compassion is, and know the value of strength." He looked down, away from Al's knowing eyes. "Weak men usually do."

Al didn't comment, content with just listening as he fidgeted with the edge of his sketchbook again. Dr. Marcoh sighed once again and met Al's bemused eyes.

"You must be confused; it's just... my guilt is asking that I justify myself to you, if this all goes wrong," He said, pushing a hand through his hair. At the blanch on Al's face, he quickly added, "Not that it would, of course."

"...Of course." Al said with a nervous gulp.

"You'll be fine, Alphonse. I've gone over this research dozens of times and tested too many lab-rats for this to go wrong." Dr. Marcoh said with a chuckle, breaking what tension Al had in his shoulders. "And you'll be able to stop the process at any time it becomes too painful."

"If you say so, Doctor." Al said graciously.

"I do say so. Though I must say, continuing with this experiment in the name of ending the war is... not helping me ease the guilt on my conscience." The doctor mused, gesturing vaguely towards the army camp. He stopped and threw an apologetic look at Al. "Then again, that is not so bad as deciding to experimenting on someone with family to get back to, making use of his desperation for my own purposes." 

"...I can only repeatedly say that I'm sorry, Alphonse." Dr. Marcoh said as he took off his glasses and rubbed a hand between his eyebrows. "But this war... I've made a dangerous weapon, and the least I can do -- other than destroying it, that is -- is to hand over the new 'weapon' to someone who has some idea how much damage it can cause."

Dr. Marcoh gave Al a hard look, then reached forward to grasp Al's hand. "Promise me this one thing, Alphonse. No matter what happens after, remain who you are -- a good man, _not_ a perfect soldier."

Al hesitated before answering, knowing the significance of the moment. He too held the older man's hands, his eyes resolute as he answered as sincerely as possible.

"Yes sir."

* * *

"I just don't know why you'd want to join the army if you're a beautiful dame." Al said without thinking, then flinched, as if realizing what he just said. Hurriedly, he tried to cover up his mistake, only making it worse. "I mean, a beau -- I mean, a _woman_. No, I meant, an agent --  _butyou'rebeautiful..._?"

"Is that a question or a compliment?" Lieutenant Rockbell mused aloud, a raised eyebrow mockingly and laughter clear in her eyes.

"Uhh...?" Al sweated nervously, not really sure how to respond to her question.

Taking pity on Al, the lieutenant let up on her teasing.

"Al. You have no idea how to talk to a woman, do you?"

"...No?" Al responded carefully. He glanced as they passed a famous dancing hall, remembering the girls that chased Ed everywhere. "Girls weren't exactly lining up for 'Al, the sickly and smaller Elric', anyway. My brother's cool and 'bad boy' attitude seemed to appeal them more."

The Lieutenant blinked in surprise, tilting her head in question. "But you must have danced sometime."

"Yeah... no." _As if a girl would want to dance with someone as short as I was,_ Al thought as he fiddled with his dog tags. "And in the past few years, it didn't seem to matter so much, with the war going on. I figured I'd wait, like my mother told me."

"...Wait for what?" The Lieutenant asks curiously.

"Don't laugh, but... the right partner."

* * *

"Dr. Marcoh!" Al rushes to the fallen man, vaguely hearing Dr. Marcoh mutter something. The elderly man is clutching at his chest where the red is spreading too quickly, and Al knows that it's too late to do anything.

"Alphonse..." Dr. Marcoh gasps, painfully gripping Al's hand as Al futilely tries to put pressure on the bleeding. "Not... a perfect soldier... good man..."

The older man stops breathing, and Al hears more shots and yells as the murderer is getting further away.

"He's getting away! After him!"

Al pushes down the shock and the pang of grief, to muse over at a later date. There are more important things right now than wallowing in sorrow.

"Al!" Lieutenant Rockbell calls to him. "The spy! He stole a serum!"

* * *

Dr. Marcoh's funeral was a quiet affair, with only military officials and the several soldiers the doctor had saved in the past. Al found this very sad, and wondered about Dr. Marcoh's extended family -- were they alive at all? What had happened to them? Did Dr. Marcoh lead a very quiet life out of necessity to secure information, or was he just a lonely man?

With each patch of soil that covers the coffin, Al carved the doctor's last words in his heart, pledging that they be the lodestar to guide his future decisions regarding his powers. 

* * *

"Sir?" Al questioned the colonel incredulously.

"You're an experiment. As I've said, you're going to be our mascot for this war that people rally against."

Al couldn't help but splutter at the words 'experiment' and 'mascot', protesting the colonel's insistence of using his newfound abilities for a _show_.

"But the serum clearly worked!"

"It did, but I asked for an army, and all I got is you. You're not enough." The colonel turned back to his paperwork, clearly dismissing Al. "If you have something to say, right now is a perfect time to keep it to yourself. Go see your new manager and practice for your first tour."

* * *

"I feel like a dancing monkey." Al muttered to Lieutenant Rockbell, who had come out to visit him.

"At least this is better than staying in a lab," She said sympathetically. "I haven't heard good things about that place --"

Al turned sharply at that, snapping, "-- And are those the only two options I have? A lab rat or a dancing monkey?"

When the Lieutenant didn't meet his eyes, Al looked away with a huff, muttering under his breath. "It's not your fault, but I _hate_ this."

After a few moments of silence, the Lieutenant tried to comfort him.

"You're still Amestris's 'New Hope', quite literally. I've heard even America has taken to rallying around you as well, calling you their Captain America after that last tour, your Amestrian nationality aside."

"A glorified cheerleader," Al scoffed, looking out towards the men of the barracks who were watching the girls' show. The Lieutenant remained silent, as there really was nothing to say to that.

"Lieutenant... For the longest of time, I've only dreamed about fighting at the front lines by my brother's side. My body..." Al trailed off quietly, remembering the many sicknesses that held him back (and Ed by extension).

Huffing deprecatingly, he continued, looking back at the lieutenant. "But here I am, at the front lines like I've always wanted, and I'm just as safe and sound as before."

Al disgustedly gestured down at himself.

"Wearing tights! Risking nothing! My br -- men without the serum are out there risking their lives, and I'm sitting here doing -- doing -- this!"

Neither mentioned Al's slip of the tongue.

"Al..." The lieutenant tried to soothe him, reaching out to place a hand gently on his shoulder. However, she couldn't help but swallow loudly as she pat him, forcing false cheer in her voice. "...I'm sure your brother is fine."

The strange tone that the lieutenant used for the last comment pulled Al from his misery. He threw a sharp look at the Lieutenant, silently accusing.

"You know something."

The Lieutenant grimaced, searching Al's face for something that she seemed to find after a cursory glance. She broaches the topic carefully, knowing it was a minefield ready to blow.

"About your brother..."


	3. there's no fair in farewell

 

"Colonel," Al demands as he strides into the colonel's tent. "I need the casualty list for the battle from Ishval."

The colonel pauses in his signing as he glances up. "You don't get to give me orders, son," He finishes the signature and puts the pen down as he glares. "And there is something called knocking."

"I just need one name," Al bulldozes, ignoring the colonel. "Lieutenant Edward Elric from the 103rd, it's spelled E-L-R --"

"I know how to spell, soldier." The colonel interrupts. Pausing at the stricken expression on Al's face, he softens his voice a little. "...I'm sorry, Alphonse."

Al looks a little desperate, what little hope remaining fading fast. "You mean to say he's... dead...?"

The colonel sighs, then throws a weighed look at Lieutenant Rockbell, who stands straight next to Al, looking unrepentant.

"Almost as good as. He's behind enemy lines; we can only assume he and the rest of the 103rd are... MIA," _If not KIA_ , it went unsaid in the short pause. "...and hope for the best."

Al's shoulders immediately squared up tightly as his eyes gained a desperate edge. "We need to put together a rescue effort --"

"Stay down, soldier," The colonel cut in. His gaze hardened, and he glared up at Al who was leaning on his paperwork. "There's nothing we can do."

"But --" Al tried to argue, only to be cut off again.

"Mr. Elric." The colonel broke in firmly, with a stern frown. After a long stare, the colonel's brows softened a little at whatever he saw in Al's eyes. He continued a little softly, yet still firmly. "They're thirty miles behind enemy lines. There's nothing we can do but hurry and win the war."

He then waved them out of his office-tent. "Dismissed, Elric. Lieutenant, stay behind."

The colonel didn't see the glint of determination in Al's eyes, as the younger Elric left the tent.

* * *

"Brother!"

Ed was lying on a gurney, strapped down tight. There were bruises everywhere.

Ed blinked blearily. "...Alphonse...?"

"Come on Ed," Al murmured gently, removing the restraints. Al unbuckled them as quickly as possible, but he had to stop when Ed groaned at a particularly rough tug.

"...Al..." Ed said weakly. "Is that really you...?"

"Idiot! Of course it's me," Al muttered gruffly, holding his shaking voice as evenly as possible. "I thought you were dead." He added weakly, noting the many needle marks at the crook of Ed's arm as he pulled him into a sitting position.

Ed let out a pained gasp as his feet touched the ground, and his eyes flickered from his own legs to the nearing gunshots in the distance.

"No," Al cut in, immediately knowing what his brother was thinking. "Edward Elric, don't you dare tell me to leave you behind."

"Heh... caught me..." Ed wheezed, then strained to take a step, leaning heavily onto Al. "Weren't you...a little... smaller...?" He haltingly said, biting back the pain as Al shifted him to support him better.

"Umm..." Al dithered, unable to meet his eyes. "Long story. We gotta get out of here while the 103rd make the distraction. Come on."

Ed glanced up sharply, but didn't say anything to disagree, as he forced his legs to move a little faster. Al tried to make the walk a little less jolting, nearly carrying Ed entirely, but from the choked down cries of pain, it wasn't enough.

As they walked, the grunts of pain became fewer in number until there was a long pause of just shallow breathing. Al glanced down at his brother worriedly as he shifted Ed into a more secure hold.

"You die now, Edward Elric, and I really am going to kill you." Al said with forced calm, trying to control the panic in his gut. When Ed didn't answer, Al couldn't help but jostle him harder, trying to get a response. "Brother! You promised!"

Ed seemed to have noticed the panic, as he huffed out a pained snort. "I'm alive... aren't I...?"

"Well... Make sure you stay alive then!" Al retorted, relief clear in his voice. "I won't have you die on me after my brilliant rescue!"

* * *

"So... you became an subject for an untested experiment." Ed said tonelessly, his face an impassive mask.

"Well..." Al looked away sheepishly, all but admitting to it. Ed smacked his younger brother in the back of the head, flinching a little when the sudden movement pulled some of his bruises.

"...Ow." Al muttered, knowing that he was in the wrong, and there was nothing he could do to escape the scolding.

"You knuckle-head!" Ed scowled, crossing his arms. "You went and agreed to a serum that was still in testing? What if you died, _idiot_!"

"You're supposed to stay behind where everything was safe, dammit! But no, do you stay where you're supposed to? No! You do the exact opposite and come to the front lines where everyone avoids! Not only that, you undergo an experimental procedure with no idea what you'd end up like at all! Idiot, _idiot_ , _idiot_!"

"If I hadn't, I wouldn't be here, and you might have _died_ \-- "

"I promised to come home alive!"

"-- and I wouldn't have known until months and months later!" Al continued, putting a hand on Ed's mouth to silence him. "You --!" _would have died_ , goes unsaid in the awkward silence.

"...Hmph," Ed grumbled, not looking at him in the eye. " _Fine_."

"...You wanted me to stay behind?" Al huffed, lightly smacking Ed on his uninjured shoulder. "Brother, what did I tell you about molly-coddling me?"

"...Not to." Ed muttered mutinously.

Al sighed exasperatedly, kneading his forehead. "Well, _I_ kept my side of the bargain," he glared at his brother. "So, _you_ keep _yours_!"

"Why, you..." Ed took a step closer with the intention of getting Al in a headlock, but paused when he realized that he had to _reach up_ to reach his head. "Wait -- _you're taller than me?!?_ "

Al was surprised himself, then grinned with triumph. "Ha, take  _that_ , brother!"

"How dare you grow taller than your older brother!"

"By drinking lots and lots of milk!"

"AL-PHONSE!"

* * *

"Remember that fair at Central, when I made you ride the Cyclone with me?" Ed asked quietly.

"Yeah, and I threw up after the ride." Al answered with a grimace.

"This isn't payback for that, is it?"

"Why would you think that? Nervous?"

"...Nah."

"Lieutenant told me it's okay to be nervous. Said that it was a normal human phenomenon."

"Oh, she told you so, hmm?" Ed said with a lascivious wink.

"Ed! You know it's not like that --"

"The lady doth protest much."

"Edward El --"

"Sirs, we're approaching target! We've got one minute!"

Snapping back to attention, both Ed and Al shared a look, then turned to the open plane door.

"Ready in three... two... one... JUMP!"

* * *

"Brother! Hang on!"

"Al!"

Ed was hanging precariously from a piece of railing of the train, and Al scrabbled desperately to reach him. "Ed, grab my hand!"

But as Ed tried to stretch a hand, there was an ominous squeak.

There was a brief moment when their fingers touched --

Then with a snap, the railing broke.

And with panicked screams from both --

 

Ed

  
_fell_.

 


End file.
